Slide box with slidable latch



July 29, 1947. H. G. rowNE Er A1.

' sL1DE`Box WITH SLIDABLE LATCH ad, 4 ZQ@ f 1.a. @L y L 2/ W. W gw .2 @e

, lrzl/erdor' jfanald zyrza 'M Bakr-Jara Y Patented July 29, 1947 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE` SLIDEl BOX WITH SLIDABLE- LATCH Application April6, 1946, Serial/No. 660,240

13 Claims. (Cl. 20G-1.5)

This invention relates to boxes andin'particu lar to that type of boxcustomarily used, for example, by school children for holding andsafekeeping of various articles necessary for their school andassociated home Work.

One object of my invention is to provide a box oi the characterdescribed which Will provide for ready access to the contents of theboxand for ready exposure of the contents to inspection, While at the sametime keeping to a minimum the chance of accidental or inadvertentspilling of the contents so often attendant to Vopening boxes of similartypes. Another object of my invention is toprovide abox of the'abovecharacter which may loe tightly closed andfsecured from accidentalopening Which results from careless and hurried closing of the box, orfrom rough and indifferent handling. Other objects of my invention areto provide a box' which-is inexpensive and easy to-.manufactura which is-durable and light in construction, and which presentsv aV pleasing andattractive appearance:

In. one aspect my invention involves a box comprising a casing having atop wall, a tray slidable- Within said casing from a retracted positionkinside the casing, the top wall ofv said casing being formed with anopening and havingl af In another aspect the casing opening` has.. an

edge portion extending at an angle to the line of travel of said tray,and a recess communicating with and extending from said edge portion.

at an angle to the line of travel of said tray, the' lock being alsooperative to engage the opposite edge of theV casing. opening when thetray is in extended position so as to provide a stop. against-r furtherextension of the tray. The tray has a.

part adapted to close the casing opening when the tray is slid tolretracted position. The top Wall of the tray may also have arecessin'registry withv the casing recess when. the` tray isl in retractedposition, the lock being movableinto the registering recesses of thetray and casing when the tray is in said.' retracted position forlocking the tray against sliding movement.'

The lock may comprise an extension through the tray and; casing openingsand a part movable into saidrecess when the tray is in said retracted..

position for locking the tray against sliding movement, the lockextension beingY operative to engagethe opposite edge of the casingopening When the tray'isin extended position so as to provide a stopagainst further extension of the tray.

In a more specic aspect of my invention the top Wall of the casing hasan open windowv with an edge normal to the line of travel ofv said tray,and arecess at one corner of the casing window aligned with said edgeportion.v

Inanother aspect-the top wall of the casing is formedwith a plurality ofspaced openings, and the tray has a top wall formed with a plurality ofspaced openings adapted to underlie the casing openings when the tray isin extended position, and-has a plurality of parts adapted to close thecasing openings when the tray is in retractedposition, and further haspartition means disposed between the openings of the'tray for dividingthe tray into a plurality of compartmen-ts,` the openings of the trayconstituting means of access t0 said compartments. One of the casingopenings has an edgeportion extending at-'anv angle to the line oftravel of said tray and a-rec'ess communicating with and extending fromsaid. edge portion at an angle to the line of-itravelY of said tray, andthe top Wallv ofthe tray has a recess in registry With the casing recesswhen the tray is in retracted position. A lock is movably mounted in thetray to move into said registering recesses When the tray is inretracted position for locking the tray against sliding movement, thelock further being operative to engage the opposite edge of the onecasing opening when the tray is in extended position. so--as to providea stop against further extension of the tray.

For the purpose of illustration, a preferred embodimentvof the inventionis shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 isa plan view` with the tray in retracted position and lockedagainst sliding movement;

Fig. 2.is a planv view with the tray in extended position and stoppedagainst further extension within. the casing, one corner being brokenaway;

Fig. 3- is a cross-section along the lines 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig.. Llis a cross-section along the lines tof Fig., I andv Fig.. 5. isa cross-section along thel line `5--5 of Fig..2.

Referring to. Figs. 2, 3 and 4, thenumeral l represents arcasing havinga top wall 2,1 a bottom 3,- overlapping sidewalls A and 5, and at oneend, overlappingendwall's Bland 1, the oppositeend of the casing beingformed with an opening. A tray 8 is slidably disposed in the casing Iand has a top wall `9, side walls I0, a bottom II and end walls I2comprising overlapping end members I3 and I 3a, as shown in Fig. 4, oneof said end walls abutting the end wall of the casing when the tray isin retracted position, as shown in Fig. 4, the other end wall extendingthrough the open end of the casing when the tray is slid to extendedposition, as shown in Fig. 2.

The top wall 2 of the easing is formed with a plurality of spacedopenings I4, as shown in Fig. 2, one of said openings having an edgeportion I5 normal to the line of travel of the tray 8, and having arecess I6 at one corner of the opening I4 aligned with said edgeportion.

The top wall 9 of the tray is formed with a plurality of spaced openingsI'I, as shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, adapted to underlie the casingopenings I4, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, when the tray is in extendedposition. The top wall 9 of the tray further has a plurality of partsI8, as shown in Fig. 4, adapted to close the casing openings I4 when thetray is slid to retracted position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. A recessI9 is also formed in the top Wall 9 of the tray at the edge of oneopening I4, and is adapted to register with the recess I6 of the casingopening when the tray is in retracted position, as shown in Fig. 3.

Partition members 20 are disposed within the tray 8 between the openingsIVI and in registry with the edges of the tray parts I8 to divide thetray into a plurality of compartments 2| and 22. Referring to Fig. 4, atray 23 having a bottom 24 and side walls 25 is disposed withincompartment 2l, one of said side walls being parallel to and spaced fromone of said partition members 20 to form a lock-receiving space 26aligned with the recess i9 and cooperative with said partition member toprovide a lock-supporting means.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, a lock 2l is disposed Within saidlock-receiving space 26 and is slidably supported by the side wall 25and partition 20, the lock comprising a narrow rectangular member havingan extension 28 through the openings II and I4 of the tray and casing,respectively, and a part 29 adapted to slide into the registeringrecesses I9 and I6 of the tray and casing when the tray is in retractedposition to lock the tray against sliding movement, as shown in Figs. l,3 and 4. The extension 28 is also operative to engage the opposite edge39 of the easing opening I4 when the tray is in extended position tostop the tray from further extended movement, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, a second tray 3I is slidably disposedwithin the casing I in juxtaposed relation to the tray 8, the tray 3|having side walls 32, end walls 33 and a bottom 34.

To assist sliding the trays 8 and 3I from retracted to extendedposition, overlapping end walls 6 and I of the casing are formed withopenings 35 through which a pencil or iinger may be inserted to impingeagainst the end walls l2 and 33 of the trays, after which further inwardmovement of the pencil or nger will extend the trays from retractedposition.

To use the box the lock 21 is slid inwardly t0- ward the center of thecasing which withdraws the member 29 from the casing and tray recesses,

At this time the spaced openings Il of the tray underlie the openings I4of the casing, andthe compartments of the tray are readily accessibleeither for inspection of their contents or for replenishing or depletingsaid contents. The tray is then slid to retracted position by pressingthe extended -end of the tray inwardly towards the casing at which timethe parts I8 of the tray will close the casing openings and the recessesI9 and I6 of the tray and casing, respectively, will be brought intoregistry and aligned with the lock. The lock is then slid outwardly awayfrom the center of the casing which slides the lock member 29 into saidrecesses, thereby locking the tray against sliding movement.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only,

and that the invention includes all modications and equivalents whichfall within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

l. A box comprising a casing having a top wall, a tray slidable withinsaid casing from a retracted position inside the casing, the top wall ofsaid casing being formed with an opening and having a recess extendingfrom the opening at an angle thereby releasing the tray for slidablemovement within the casing. The tray, then in retracted position, isextended, as above described, until the extension 28 engages the edge 30of the casing opening to stop further extension of the tray.

to the line of travel 0f said tray, the tray being formed with anopening adapted to underlie the casing opening when the tray is inextended position, and a look mcvably mounted in the tray to move intosaid recess when the tray is in said retracted position for locking thetray against sliding movement.

2. A box comprising a casing having a top wall, a tray slidable withinsaid casing from a retracted position inside the casing, the top wall ofsaid casing being formed with an opening including an edge portionextending at an angle to the line of travel of said tray, and a recesscommunicating with and extending from said edge portion at an angle tothe line of travel of said tray, the tray being formed with an openingadapted to underlie the casing opening when the tray is in extendedposition, and a look movably mounted in the tray r to move into saidrecess when the tray is in said retracted position for locking the trayagainst sliding movement, the lock being operative to engage theopposite edge of the casing opening when the tray is in extendedposition so as to provide a stop against further extension of the tray.

3. A box comprising e, casing having a top wall, a tray slidable withinsaid casing from a retracted position inside the casing, the top wall ofsaid casing being formed with an opening and having a recessextendingfrom the opening at an angle to the line of travel of saidtray, the tray being formed with `an Opening adapted to underlie the.casing opening when the tray is in extended position and having a partadapted to close the .casing opening when the tray is slid to retractedposition, and a lock movably mounted in the tray to move into saidrecess when the tray is in said retracted position for locking the trayagainst sliding movement.

4. A box comprising a casing having atop wall, a tray slidable withinsaid casing from a retracted position inside the casing, the top wall ofsaid casing being formed with an opening including an edge portionextending at an angle to the line of travel of said tray, and a recess`communicating with and extending from said edge portion at an angle tothe line of travel of said tray, the tray being formed with an openingadapted to underlie the casing opening when the tray is in extendedpositiongandhavingr a. part: adapted; to: close the casingopeningwherrthe'tray is. slid.v to retracted position, andfaalockmovably mounted,v

in thetray to-move intosaidrecess when the tray is in saidretractedfpositio-n:for lockingthetray against sliding movement,vthelock: beingv operative. to engage the opposite edgeA of'thencasingopening'w'nen thetray'is in .extended position so asto provide a stopagainst; further extension of'.

the tray.

5; A box comprisingav casing 'having atop :Wa1l,.

a tray slidablewitliin said casing-from a'retracted position inside thecasing, the topv wall of said casing being formeduvvith 1an' opening..and having1 a recess extending from` theaopening at an angle to the lineoi. travel 'oi".`said.tray, the tray having a top Wall formed with anopening adapted to underlie the casing opening when'the tray is inextended position, the top Wall of the tray having a recess in registrywithvthe casing recessl when the tray is in retracted position, and alock mcvably mounted in the tray to move into said registering recesswhen the tray is in said retract-ed position rforllocking the trayagainst-sliding movement..

6. A box comprising a casing having a top wall, a tray slidable Withinsaid .casing from a retracted position inside the leasing, the top Wallo-f said casing being formed With an opening including an edge portionextending at an angle to the line of travel of said tray, and a recesscommunicating with and extending from said edge portion at an angle tothe line of travel of said tray, the tray having a top Wall formed Withan opening adapted to underlie the casing opening when the tray is inextended positionJ the top Wall of the tray having a recess in registrywith the casing recess when the tray is in retracted position, and alock movably mounted in the tray to move into said registering recesseswhen the tray is in retracted position for locking the tray againstsliding movement, the lock being operative to engage the opposite edgeof the Acasing opening when the tray is in extended position so as toprovide a stop against further extension of the tray.

'7. A box comprising a casing having a top wall, a tray slidable Withinsaid casing from `a retracted position inside the casing, the top wallof said casing being formed with an opening and having a recessextending from the opening at an angle to the line of travel of saidtray, the tray having a top Wall formed with an opening adapted tounderlie the casing opening When the tray is in extended position andhaving a part adapted to close the casing opening When the tray is sli-dl to retracted position, the top wall of the tray having a recess inregistry with the casing recess when the tray is in retracted position,and a lock movably mounted in the tray to move into said registeringrecess when the tray is in said retracted position for locking the trayagainst sliding movement.

8. A box comprising a casing having a top Wall, a tray slidable withinsaid casing from a retracted position inside the casing, the top Wall ofsaid casing being formed with an opening including an edge portionextending at an angle to the line of travel of said tray, and a recesscommunicating with and extending from said edge portion at an angle tothe line of travel of said tray, the tray having a top Wall formed withan opening adapted to underlie the casing opening when the tray is inextended position and having a part adapted to close the casing openingwhen the tray is slid to retracted position, the top Wall of the trayhavingxarecess lin registry with the casing recessiwhen the. trayis inretracted position, and

a.,lock movably mountedin the tray to move into said-registeringrecesseswhen the tray is in re- 5s tractedipositionior locking the tray againstslidin'gmovementthelock being operative to engage the.v opposite edge ofthe casing opening when the trayt isxinLextended. position so as toprovide a stop: againstfurther` extension of the tray.

9. A; box comprising a casing having a top Wall, atray slidable withinsaidjcasing from a retracted positionA inside the casing, the top Wallof said casingtloeing formed with an opening including an'iedgeportionextending at an angle to the line oiitravel. of said tray, and arecess communicatin'g,v with' and extending from said edge portion atarrangie` to the line oi' travel of said tray, the tray: beingformed.with an opening adapted to underlie'the casing' opening when the tray isin 2m extended-position, and a lock mountedin the tray, the'` lockvcomprising an extension through the trayand casing openings and a partmovable into saidrecess when the tray -is in said retracted position'`forI locking 1 the ytray against -sliding movement, the. lock extensionbeing operative to engage the opposite edge of the casing opening when,the tray is in extended position so as to provide a stop againstfurther extension of the tray.

10. A box comprising a casing having a top wall, a tray slidable withinsaid casing from a retracted position inside the casing, the top Wall ofsaid casing having an open window with an edge portion normal to theline of travel of said tray, and a recess rat one corner of the casingWindow aligned with said edge portion, the tray being formed with anopening adapted to underlie the casing window When the tray is inextended position, and having a Dart adapted to close the casing Windowwhen the tray is slid to retracted position, and a lock movably mountedin the tray to move into said recess when the tray is in said retractedposition for locking the tnay against sliding movement, the lock beingoperative to engage the opposite edge of the casing Window When the trayis in extended position so as to provide a stop against furtherextension of the tray.

11. A box comprising a casing having a top wall, -a tray slidable Withinsaid casing from a retracted position inside the casing, the top wall ofsaid casing having an open Window with an edge portion normal to theline of travel of said tray, and a recess at one corner of the casingwindow aligned with said edge portion, the tray having a, top Wallformed With an opening adapted to underlie the casing Window when thetray is in extended position and having la part adapted to close thecasing Window when the tray is slid to retracted position, the top wallof the tray having a recess in registry with the casing Window when thetray is in retracted position, and a lock movably mounted in the tray tomove into said registering recesses when the tray is in retractedposition for locking the tray against sliding movement, the lock beingoperative to engage the opposite edge of the casing window when the trayis in extended position so as to provide a stop against furtherextension of the tray.

12. A box comprising a casing having a top wall formed with a pluralityof spaced openings, a tray slidable within said casing from a retractedposition inside the casing and having a top wall formed with a pluralityof spaced openings adapted to underlie the spaced openings of the topwall of said casing when the tray is in extended position, and having aplurality of parts adapted to close said spaced openings of the top wallof said casing when the tray is slid to retracted position, partitionmeans disposed between the openings of the tray for dividing the trayinto a plurality of compartments, the openings of the tray constitutingmeans of access to said compartments, and a lock movably mounted in thetray and cooperative with the casing to lock the tray against slidingmovement when the tray is in retracted position and to provide a stopagainst further extension when the tray is in extended position.

13. A box comprising a casing having a top Wall, a tray slid-able withinsaid casing from a retracted position inside the casing, the top wall ofsaid casing being formed with a plurality of spaced openings, oneopening including an edge portion extending at an angle to the line oftravel of said tray, and a recess communicating with and extending fromsaid edge portion at an angle to the line of travel of said tray, thetray having a -top Wall formed with a, plurality of spaced openingsadapted to underlie the casing openings When the tray is in extendedposition and having a plurality of parts adapted to yclose the casingopenings when the tray is slid to retracted position, partition meansdisposed between the openings of the tray for dividing the tray into aplurality of compartments, the openings of the tray constituting meansof access to said compartments, the top Wall of fthe tray having arecess in registry With the casing recess When the tray is in retractedposition, and a lock movably mounted in the tray to move into saidregistering recesses when the tray is in retracted position, for lockingthe tray against sliding movement, the lock being operative to engagethe opposite edge of the casing opening when the tray is in extendedposition so as to provide a stop against further extension of the tnay.

HAROLD G. TOWNE. LESTER M. PETERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,405,369 Poulsen et al. Aug. 6,1946 2,353,629 Apfelbaum July 18, 1944

